Father's Day
by AshleyAficionado
Summary: Dr. Leonard McCoy was grumpy. And while most aboard the ship would say that 'grumpy' is his default mood, today he was particularly temperamental. Maybe the arrival of a very special guest will change that.


Dr. Leonard McCoy was grumpy. And while most aboard the ship would say that 'grumpy' is his default mood, today he was particularly temperamental. He had strode through the door at the beginning of his shift, and if looks could kill, everyone on that level of the ship would have decimated. He was snapping agitatedly at every crewmember that dared get in his way, purposefully raising the volume of his curses and comments that would usually be mumbled under his breath so the object of his ire would clearly know just exactly what he was thinking of them. His southern drawl, usually barely discernible, had thickened; but instead of sounding relaxing and gentle to those around him, the drawn out vowels had a way of making any insult or shout even more heavy handed and cruel. The patient load was considerably lighter than usual, as if the rest of the people on the Enterprise had heard it would be in their best interest to avoid Dr. McCoy at all costs. Unfortunately, that meant that, with less people for him to focus on, those poor souls stuck in Med Bay with the doctor were forced to endure his wrath even more strongly. Nurse Sifel had accidentally run into him this morning on her way through the Med Bay doors, causing him to spill coffee all along his front. Everyone had silenced, looking at the pair with fearful eyes. The doctor had slowly looked up from the coffee slowly dripping down his uniform, his face deceptively calm, before launching into a verbal attack the likes of which the other nurses had never seen before. 15 minutes and a string of creatively hurtful adjectives later, Nurse Sifel had retreated to her quarters in tears. No one had seen from her since. Dr. McCoy had turned to everyone in the room staring at him in silent shock and sharply barked "Get me a new damn shirt!" to the nearest nurse.

The reason for his sourer than usual mood was speculated about by the entire staff; covertly, of course, on lunch breaks and far away from Med Bay. But, so far, nothing could come to mind. To them, it was any other Sunday. Well, it happened to be Father's Day, but what would that have to do with anything?

* * *

The bridge crew was enjoying a nice, quiet Sunday. They were in between missions and were cruising serenely somewhere between Neptune's moons. Jim sat idly in his chair, looking over reports from various departments on a PADD, while Spock stood beside him, offering a helpful comment here and there. A sharp trill sounded on the intercom and Uhura announces "Captain, transport needs to speak with you." Kirk nods and she opens communications.

"What's the word, Scotty?" Kirk says, gently placing the PADD aside.

The Scottish burr of the ship's Chief Engineer fills the room. "The, uh, package has arrived, sir," he states.

A broad smile appears on the Captain's face and he leans forward in his seat

"I trust it is in good condition?" He asks

"Aye, Captain"

"Excellent. Would you be so kind as to bring it up to the bridge?" Kirk says

"Sure thing, sir"

"Oh and Scotty, don't forget, you must keep it in the utmost secrecy. Take the back way to get here. Kirk out." Uhura closes the line, turning to face to the Captain with intrigue in her eyes. She isn't alone, as Sulu and Chekov both turn in their seats to face him. Kirk, noticing their inquisitive looks, simply continues to smile.

20 minutes later, the turbolift doors open to reveal Scotty, holding the hand of small girl. She couldn't have been more than 7, with long, braided brown hair that fell down the back of her light blue sundress. The hand that Scotty wasn't holding was waving around, adding emphasize to the words of a story she was in the process of enthusiastically telling the Scotsman.

"And that," she was saying, "was how I lost it." She pointed to her mouth, where, the crew could see, there was a gap where her left front tooth should be. Scotty laughed heartedly as they stepped onto the bridge. Kirk stood up instantly, positively beaming as he made his way to them. The little girl looked from Scotty to the Captain, her brown eyes brightening as she yelled "Uncle Jim!" before running and enveloping the captain's waist in a tight hug. The crew, staring unabashedly at the duo, felt their confusion deepen. Kirk picked up the small girl into his arms and twirled her around.

"Hi, Jo! I hope Mr. Scot treated you well." The girl nodded emphatically, smiling at Scotty.

"He showed me around the ship! I asked him if I could see the engines but he said you probably wouldn't be happy about that." She sounded disappointed, but only for a moment as the Captain placed her back down. He gave Scotty an approving nod before the man left, heading back to his post. Jim took the girl's hand.

"He's right. And think about how mad your dad would be if I let you get into trouble?" Kirk said, looking down at her.

"Daddy would be okay with it. He loves you too much." She stated matter-of-factly. The Captain laughed gently.

"I doubt that. Do you want to meet the rest of the crew?" Kirk asked her, gesturing at the other faces sitting around the bridge.

"I already know them! Daddy as told me about everybody!" She said

"Did he now? All good stuff, I hope," Jim said, glancing wearily at his crew. The little girl nodded, let go of the Captain's hand and made her way over to Uhura.

"Hello!" The communications officer said sweetly, staring at the little girl in front of her.

"You're Lieutenant Uhura. You're smart and are mean to Uncle Jim but that's okay because he needs it sometimes." Her statement was so blunt and honest that Uhura had to smile. Next, she made her way over to Chekov, who smiled politely and shook her hand.

"You're Pavel. From Russia. I can point to that on a map. I want to go there someday, even though it is so cold and there are bears. I don't like bears." She said ruefully and turned to Sulu, whose eyebrows were raised in amusement "You're Mr. Sulu. You play with swords. That seems like a very scary hobby to have. Aren't you afraid you'll get hurt?" She asked, eyes wide.

Sulu laughed and said "Sometimes. It can get a little scary."

The little girl turned sharply, running to were the Captain sat in his chair, smiling at her. She stopped suddenly, starring up at Spock, who stood beside Kirk with his arms behind his back. He looked down at her, his face as blank as ever.

"And you're Mr. Spock. I'm not supposed to like you because you-" she was cut off suddenly by the Captain's hand covering her mouth.

"Oookay. That's enough of that." He picked up girl into his arms again, moving to the center of the room.

"Crew, this is Joanna McCoy." Kirk said, smiling at her brightly. As one, the bridge crew felt there jaws drop. McCoy? As in Dr. McCoy? The rough-around-the-edges, cantankerous doctor who was, rumor had it, currently acting as a one man hurricane down in Med Bay, screaming at anyone for simply breathing too loudly, had a daughter?

Noticing their shocked, disbelieving faces, the Captain nodded.

"Yes, that McCoy. It's Father's Day and I thought I would surprise the good doctor. He always gets rather…unpleasant today and I figured we would change that." Again, he stared kindly at Joanna, who beamed. Now that they knew whose daughter she was, it made sense. They were suddenly recognizing the slight southern accent she had, her honest way of telling it like it is, and her gentle brown eyes, so like her father's.

"Should we get your dad?" Jim asked. Joanna nodded enthusiastically. Kirk sat down in his chair again, Joanna beside him, hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation.

"Lieutenant, please open a channel to the Med Bay." Uhura nodded and pushed a few buttons.

"Bridge to McCoy." Kirk stated, putting his finger lightly to his lips to ensure Joanna kept quiet and didn't ruin the surprise.

"What, Jim?" Everyone jumped when the brash tone of Dr. McCoy filled the room.

"Whoa, Bones, what's your deal?" he asked.

"I happen to be a little busy here. What do you want?" he asked, his words sharp.

Kirk smirked at Joanna. "Can you come up to the Bridge for a moment? I need to speak with you about something." McCoy huffed in annoyance.

"Whatever. I'm on my way. McCoy out." The line cut out.

"Everyone, you are going to want to see this." Kirk said, leaning back in his chair.

5 minutes later, as the entire Bridge sat with their eyes glued to the turbolift doors with excited grins on their faces in anticipation, the doors opened. Dr. McCoy strode into the room, eyebrows knitted together, fists clenched

"Now Jim…" he began his rant, finally raising his eyes to the Captain's chair where, standing beside his smugly grinning best friend, was his daughter, smiling her bright, gap-filled smile.

The change was instantaneous. Never had anyone on the crew seen the doctor look so vulnerable. He was a veritable rock, all sarcasm and hardness. He was who the crew went to if they needed patching up, and they always got a stern lecture for their troubles. They couldn't imagine the same treatment being given to this little girl. But now they watched as every part of McCoy softened, all the anger and tension he always carried with him leaving his body as he starred at Joanna in wonder. He gripped the nearest consul, seemingly weak at the knees. His eyebrows knitted together, mouth dropping open in shock.

"Joanna?" He said weakly, his voice soft. Joanna ran across the bridge to him, jumping up into his arms. "Daddy!" The crew looked on as the doctor hugged his little girl tightly, looking like he might never let her go. Dr. McCoy set Joanna down on the ground, lowering to his knees as he gently put his hands on her face. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, his eyes shiny with unshed tears. Everyone felt their own hearts clench at the sight, Uhura's own eyes suspiciously wet. Even Spock had a rare, half-smile on his face. Jim just sat in his chair, arms crossed lightly as he regarded his best friend.

"Honey, what are you doing here?" McCoy asked, kissing Joanna on her forehead.

"It was Uncle Jim's idea," Joanna explained, eyes bright, "he called Mom and asked her if I could come stay a few days with you here. At first she said no," at this, Dr. McCoy looked over Joanna's shoulder at Jim, a look of understanding passing between them. The crew suspected there was an unpleasant story there that they would probably never know, unless there were copious amounts of alcohol involved. "But he kept calling and begging and finally she said yes. Isn't he the greatest?" She finished, turning to look at the Captain with adoration. Dr. McCoy hugged her again, looking at his best friend.

"Yeah, he sure is somethin'." He said. That was his way of saying thanks to the Captain. Judging by Jim's beaming smile, he was okay with that.

"Daddy, I want to see where you work! I wanna see if Nurse Chapel is as pretty as you describe her in your letters!" Joanna said, causing her father to blush lightly. Another aspect of the doctor the crew had never seen before, and would probably never see again.

"You got it, darlin'," he said gently. He lowered down, turned, and, without a word, Joanna jumped up on his back, piggy-back style. She wrapped her arms around her his neck. It appeared as if this were a common occurrence between the two; a ritual well-practiced.

"And then ice cream!" She said against her father's neck. Everyone chuckled lightly.

"Of course. Now say goodbye to everyone." Dr. McCoy turned to look at the crew, all of whom were smiling at him. He rolled his eyes, but the warm gleam there let the crew know he wasn't annoyed at them in the slightest. Joanna waved with both hands.

"Goodbye Uncle Jim, goodbye everyone!" They all waved back, even, surprisingly, Spock.

"See you later, Bones. Bye, Jo." The Captain said from his seat, saluting the small girl.

As the duo turned and walked towards the turbolift they heard Joanna say "Daddy, Mr. Spock's ears were just like you said! But he didn't seem so awful." The doors closed as Dr. McCoy began to laugh. The crew continued to smile as they all turned back to their posts, Spock looking puzzled. All their hearts were warmed at the scene they had just witnessed, whether because it had them missing their own fathers or because of the chance to see such a drastically different side to their grouchy doctor. They all knew he could be gentle and caring; a sick or injured crewmember brought that out in him. It was so brief a change, though, that it was sometimes easy for them to forget. Especially when Dr. McCoy was in a mood, like today, where it was best to just steer clear of him for a good while unless you were bleeding from every orifice or had a good bottle of scotch with you.

The Captain cleared his throat.

"I need you all to do me a favor," he said slowly.

"A favor, Captain?" Spock asked

"Yes. The next time one of you is on the receiving end of one of Dr. McCoy's lectures, or you see a Nurse in tears, I want you to remember that big teddy bear you all just witnessed."

And they would, truly.


End file.
